Gideons make changes
GUELPH, ON - The Gideons continue to make changes - albeit small ones - as they look at moving toward a more culturally relevant model of ministry.
At a special general meeting in mid-January, members voted on bylaw amendments which executive director Paul Mercer described as “housekeeping."
At the Mississauga meeting, The Gideons International In Canada changed the way they voted. In the past, proxies weren't allowed and members had to be present to vote. The change now allows a proxy system.
“Members were complaining about the voting system," says Mercer. “This makes it a more modern way of voting."
The second change cleaned up The Gideons' bylaws relating to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) practices which require Canadian charities direct and control finances leaving the country.
“We don't do bylaws every year. Some items needed cleaning up to strengthen the Canadian ministry," says Mercer. “The wording in the bylaw now reflects what we were doing in practice."
These most recent changes come on the heels of the August 2010 annual meeting where members narrowly defeated a wide-ranging set of changes to the agency's general operating bylaws. Members voted 64.5 per cent in favour of the changes, but a two-thirds or 66 per cent majority was needed.
If approved, the changes would have meant full membership in The Gideons would no longer be restricted to business and professional men, and the agency would be able to distribute a wider variety of Bible versions. According to the existing bylaws, Gideon women can only participate as “auxiliary" members and people working in non-professional vocations are theoretically ineligible.
Mercer suggested the current changes were minor and “not a lot of news." But he also says the cabinet will meet this spring to continue to review the way The Gideons operate in Canada.
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